Sunday, September 10, 2006
Blair's Twisted Priorities: Example No 94
A friend of mine has a son who is serving in Basra. He is particularly delighted that whilst he gets a free 20 minute phone call to his wife each week (when he can get to a phone), those serving at Her Majesty’s Pleasure rather than just plain old Her Majesty, get 30 minutes. Call me old fashioned but is this not a tad arse about face?
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While at national police training school, I was equally delighted to discover that the Home Office had saved money by only spending an average of £1.20/day on our meals (three meals each). Prisoners at that time got £1.70. Oh well, at least I learned to have some sympathy for those I was to be locking up.
(W)PC Bloggs
Arse about faced it is, but given the state of things in this country not supprising.
the rights of the criminal are always put before those of the victim, if we keep that in mind,then the government will put it's own priorities and wants first, after all they hav edone a criminal job at running this country.
Oh. My. God.
Tony Blair is a monster So's that fat, greedy wife.
Our armed forces and protectors should be getting 30 minutes and people who have offended against society should be getting zero. They want contact with their "families" - the woman they were semi-living with when they were nicked - they can write a letter.
Iain, what do you expect........
Tony Liar and the Scottish Mafia will be out of our hair soon enough.
Well it just goes to show what corruption, ineptitude and immoral ways can do for a country.
Why is this happening? Why are the good and decent being victimised?
Why do I have to put a thief's, a drug addict's, a rapist's, a murder's, a child molester's, a granny killer's, feelings and or rights before mine and any other decent person?
This government has turned into the laughing stock of the world. I feel embarrassed by the Labour Party and Tony Bliar.
The fact he and his cronies constantly sweep our views and feeling under the carpet and treat us with total indifference will ultimately be there down fall.
I hear Labour I think corrupt. I do not trust this government and never will. I don’t want GB – I don’t want any of them full stop.
Anonymous 9:55 pm - "Tony Liar and the Scottish Mafia will be out of our hair soon enough."
Well, yes and no. But if they run Alan Johnson, Labour will still be in power. I don't know much about him, but he doesn't seem to be motivated by commies the way Tone, Cherie, the gay Gordon, Jack Straw (haven't heard much from him lately; gone to ground has he?)and all the other dusty old Trots are.
If they run Johnson, he will win.
Heard on the news today that nanny state are going to insist on every bike having a bell or you will be fined up to £2000,
Shame the Labour party didn't come with a bell, after all they seem to have taken us all for a good ride for the last nine years.
Verity said - They want contact with their families ... they can write a letter.
...and they can pay for their own bloody stamps, too.
Due to the FCO incompetence, they probably cant afford calls - Didn't some phone get pinched and then were allowed to run up hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bills (in fact it was £600,000 as Ive just checked).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5201748.stm
Where's Liam Fox in all this? The troops are under-equipped, undermanned and overstretched and his silence is deafening. What does he do all day?
towcestarian - damn' straight. When did the British public make a contract with criminals to give them those little extras that make life so worth living? Don't they sell stamps in the tuck shop?
UK Daily Pundit - Excellent question! What does this man do all day? Book Dave's Brazilian wax jobs?
Whatever happened to Dave's disabled kid he was touting around to features editors for months, by the way? On ice until the next election?
Where's the Shadow Cabinet? Not just Liam Fox, but the rest of them?
Verity, if they run Johnson, then perhaps they deserve to win........
These are the things that are wrong in Britain and nobody in power does anything about it.
They then wonder why there is voter apathy.
anonymous 11:26 p.m. If they are smart enough to dump Gordon and the whole Tony and toxic cohorts gang, perhaps they would deserve to win under Johnson.
He will probably be to the right of Cabana Boy.
johnny norfolk - I hope you'll forgive me, but have you been following this thread?
Tony Blair, Cherie Blair, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw et al have created this situation of voter helplessness and apathy. Don't you understand that? This is their greatest triumph.
Yes ...they're also getting the death penalty, instead of Ian Huntley
What a wicked government - piano wire anyone?
ROTB
I'm not entirely sure how you're linking this to Blain, Iain.
Is the 20minute policy exclusive to Iraq? Do troops stationed in Afghanistan and Sierra Leone get longer? Surely it's an Army-wide policy, and as such, has been policy for some time.
That's not to exonerate the present government but this was presumably the case in the first Gulf War too?
Iain, you must surely have enough material now for another Little Red Book of New Labour sleeze. It's the perfect time for a sequel.
anon:
In Gulf War 1 we didn't have access to mobile phones nor landlines unless we were in HQ and even then we couldn't use them for home calls!
The 20 minute rule nowadays is because that's all that is on the phone cards they issue not the time limit as such. We can buy extra time but when there are only ten phones for 1000 men it gets a bit difficult to make the call in the first place. I've seen gguys get up at 3am just to call home when the phones aren't busy!
The welfare package provided by MoD (who spent 1 BILLION on their HQ refurbishment including nice comfy chairs and large screen TVs) is crap actually compared to the Yanks or even the Aussies in Baghdad according to my sources out there. The same rules and lack of welfare stuff applies worldwide not just Iraq. Obviously some places such as Helmand are more difficult to provide but hey, if the Yanks prefer to fly in a satellite dish and phone booth rather than comfy chairs and air conditioning for the HQ staff then they have their priorities right! This NuLabour government do not CARE about the troops.
It is simply not true. As an ex-screw, allow me to comment:
Prisoners have to buy their own phone calls and are charged a very high rate/minute (higher than a phonebox). They are limited to the amount of phonecards they can buy and given that they rarely earn more than £ 12 per week it often comes at the expense of other things.
Prisoners are given 2 free letters a week but that is all, and of little use to those who cannot read and write.
I'm afraid this piece sounds like something out of the Daily Mail. Outrage above facts.
The UK Daily Pundit - last I heard of Liam Fox was this about why we should let turkey in the EU. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/09/03/do0305.xml
Anon 12.47AM
That's not to exonerate the present government but this was presumably the case in the first Gulf War too?
What in 1990? I'd imagine that the access to sat-phones was a lot,lot more restricted back then. We have a fair why since those dark ages.
Verity - half of them can't write! The other half find it even more difficult to speak too!
'plain old Her Majesty'?
To the Tower with him...
And what was the ratio during Gulf War 1. My bet would be that it was worse because international telecommunications have improved enormously. The other point is that soldiers can pay for extra phone calls whereas carrying a mobile around in prison is frowned on.
Not saying prison shouldn't be tougher or soldiering easier but you are not quite comparing like with like.
Verity,
Regarding your comments about DC's disabled child, I am afriad that you can be a really offensive individual at times - needlessly so!
For what it's worth, DC and his wife spend a huge amount of time in and out of hospital with their 'disabled kid'. And to my knowledge, he never 'touted' the child anywhere. It was well known that he had a disabled child because he has been active in campaigning for several charities relevant to the child's disorder. He has been apprached on several occassions and asked for interviews, which to my knowledge, he has handled sensitively and in a low-key way - unlike Blair who would be wearing a T-shirt with a photograph on!
Just cos you don't like him, there is no need to stoop so low. Try and grow up a bit please!
"The other point is that soldiers can pay for extra phone calls whereas carrying a mobile around in prison is frowned on."
Oh really. Poor lags. The 20 min free phone calls are from fixed land lines in Military Installations. If you can get there. As for mobiles, they are truly frowned upon on operations because of security but I would wager a fiver that lags can overcome any phone problem aided by a friendly warder. As for "Soldiers can pay for extra phone calls" read the Independant on soldiers working for half the minimum wage and then book a ticket back to Planet Knob from whence you came.
You're right. We're paying these people to be in Basra. They should pay for their own phone calls!
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